


I'm Not Leaving You

by Firelizard46



Category: Fast and the Furious Series
Genre: Abuse, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alpha/Omega, Child Abuse, F/M, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Injury, Injury Recovery, M/M, Minor Injuries, Past Abuse, Past Child Abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-16
Updated: 2019-09-16
Packaged: 2020-10-19 13:56:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 10,763
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20658356
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Firelizard46/pseuds/Firelizard46
Summary: Brian is an omega that is running from his family, but he ends up injured. Dom is an alpha, and he finds and helps Brian. This is an extreme AU with the characters having different personalities.





	1. Chapter 1

“Vince, get back to the pack. If I’m not back in half an hour, leave Letty with Mia and Jess and come looking for me with Leon,” I say to my right hand as we hear a howl of pain while making patrols around our home.

  
“I don’t think that’s a good idea, Dom. It could be hunters that caused that,” Vince says, trying to stop me from going.

  
“That’s more reason to go see, Vince. I cannot leave someone in the hands of hunters. You know very well what will happen to that poor wolf,” I say, looking at Vince’s tattoo covered arm.

  
“Be careful, Dom,” Vince says before heading back to the house.

  
I watch him disappear before taking off in the direction the howl came from. As I get closer to where the howl came from, I can hear whimpering and smell blood. I instantly pick up the scent of an omega, which makes my alpha wolf wanted out, but I force it down and stay in human form so as to not startle the injured wolf. I come into the clearing the howl came from and find a beautiful golden wolf laying on the other side of the clearing. When the wolf spots me, it stands up and tries to back away, which reveals the wolf’s front right paw that is trapped in a bear trap.

  
“Whoa,” I say, moving closer, which causes the wolf to try and back away again, but the trap stops it. When the trap bites harder on the wolf’s paw from it moving, the wolf lets out a whimper.

  
“I’m not going to hurt you. I want to help you,” I say before shifting to wolf form to show the wolf it can trust me. The wolf seems to relax after that, so I quickly pad over to it and nudge its cheek lightly with my nose. After the wolf nudges back, I change back to human form and take a closer look at the trap. It looks to be the same as the ones I have dealt with before, so I quickly work on getting it open.

  
“When I pull it open, get free and mover back quickly. I can’t hold it open for long,” I say, watching the wolf closely to see nod slightly. I quickly but carefully pull the trap open. As soon as the wolf has its paw cleared and away from the trap, I let it go snap close. I quickly move over to where the wolf is now laying with its injured paw close to it.

  
“Let me see,” I say, reaching out towards the paw, which causes the wolf to flinch though it didn’t try and move away as I look at the wound. I wish I had something clean to tie off his wound, but my clothes are covered in dirt and car grease from working in the garage earlier. I quickly change to wolf for and lick the wound to clean it some before laying down in front of the wolf, nudging his cheek with my nose again. I quickly get up and move in closer to him when I hear movements coming from the trees. The wolf nudges me, which makes me look into his beautiful blue eyes. I can tell he want me to leave and save myself, but I shake my head no before moving to lay around him, resting my head on his back as his eyes tear up, silently telling him that I’m not leaving him. The sound of movement gets closer and the wolf whimpers, moving closer to me, but I relax as I pick up the scent of Vince and Leon, who comes running out of the woods in wolf form.

  
“Dom,” Vince yells once he shifts back to human from his black wolf. Leon also shifts back to human from his tan wolf form. I nudge the golden wolf’s cheek before changing back to human from my dark brown wolf form. I watch as the golden wolf transforms to his human form before collapsing onto his side, his face hidden by his golden curly hair.

  
“Hey, are you ok?” I say, brushing his curls from his face to see those bright blue eyes staring up at me.

  
“Hurts,” he gets out before passing out. I quickly feel for a pulse and sigh when I find a strong one.

  
“What happened?” Vince asks, kneeling next to me as I pull the beautiful man to rest against me.

  
“The hunters are back. He was trapped in that one there. Be careful, Leon, there could be more,” I say as Leon moves to look at the trap.

  
“What are we going to do with him?” Vince asks, watching me closely.

  
“We’re taking him back to the house. He is staying until his wound heals,” I say, running my knuckles down the side of his face.

  
“What will happen when he’s all healed?” Leon asks, walking back over with the trap in his hand.

  
“He can stay if he wants or leave if he wants,” I say, picking up his small and fragile frame, which weighs way too little.

  
“He looks starved,” Leon says, frowning.

  
“He looks like he’s been running,” I say, thinking back to when Leon and Jesse had shown up at my door. “Let’s get him home and take care of his wound.”

  
“Are you sure it’s safe. We don’t know him,” Vince says, looking uneasily at the man.

  
“I didn’t know you when I took you in, or Leon and Jesse," I say.

  
“I know. I’m just worried. Mia is in a very delicate state right now,” Vince says.

  
“I know she is, Vince. It’ll be fine,” I say as we start walking back to the house. We are greeted with a very worried Letty as soon as the house came into view.

  
“Dom,” Letty says, rushing forward, but Leon stops her halfway to me.

  
“He’s not injured, Let, but the man in his arms is,” Leon says, kissing Letty’s temple.

  
“Do we know him?” Jesse asks as he and Mia meet us at the door.

  
“No, we don’t know him, Jesse. He seems to be someone running,” I say, laying him down carefully onto the couch.

  
“He’s pretty,” Jesse says, looking over the back of the couch at him.

  
“What happened to him?” Mia asks as Vince makes her sit down in the armchair by the couch.

“He got trapped in this,” Leon says, holding up the trap.

  
“Oh, my god,” Mia says as I kneel next to the man with the first aid kit.

  
“I need a bowl of warm but not hot water and some rags,” I say as I take the man’s pulse.

  
“I’ll get them,” Jesse says, quickly moving off to get what I need as I push up the man’s shirt to make sure he doesn’t have any other bad wounds.

  
“Oh, my god,” I hear someone gasp as there is a sound of glass shattering, which startles the man awake. He instantly shifts back to his golden wolf and tries to bolt, but Leon blocks the front door, and Vince blocks the only other door in the room, which leads to the kitchen.

  
“Hey. It’s ok. You’re safe here. No one is going to hurt you,” I say, trying to get the wolf to calm down. The wolf looks around before suddenly bolting towards Jesse, who yelped and dropped to the floor. The wolf is about to jump towards Jesse mid stride when Vince, in wolf form, tackles him. The wolf lets out a loud yelp as he lands in the glass from the bowl, but Vince follows after him and tries to bite the wolf.

  
“Vince,” I growl out before shifting into my dark brown wolf form and shoving Vince off of the wolf. Vince tries to lunge at the wolf again, but I let out a deep growl, which backs him off. Mia walks over and carefully kneels next to the wolf as it whimpers in pain, which causes me to ignore Vince and focus on him.

  
“We need to get him off the glass before more gets embedded in him,” Mia says, reaching towards the wolf, who whimpers and tries to move away.

  
“Stay still,” I say after changing back to human form. “Let’s remove the glass from around him, and then we can roll him off the glass and be able to treat his wounds.”

  
“We should lay a towel down for him before we roll him,” Mia says as we carefully clean up the glass.

  
“We need to get rid of him,” Vince says after changing back to human form. I look up to see Letty holding Jesse, who’s shaking, and Leon walking over with a towel.

  
“He just got startled, V,” Leon says, handing me the towel before kneeling next to Mia.

  
“He’s really scared,” Mia says, carefully petting the wolf’s head as he watches Vince.

  
“Vince, go wait outside,” I say, laying my hand on the wolf’s shoulder.

  
“I’m not leaving with Mia in here where she could get hurt. I told you we shouldn’t have brought him here,” Vince growls out.

  
“Whoa, no, no, don’t shift. You’ll only hurt yourself more,” I say as the wolf starts to shift, but he doesn’t listen and does anyway.

  
“You shouldn’t move,” Mia says as the man starts to stand up but stumbles and lands on his hands and knees.

  
“I won’t stay here and be a burden to you. I didn’t mean to scare anyone. I just want to know how to get out of here, and I’ll be gone,” the man says, managing to stand, which causes the glass in him to shift and his wounds to start bleeding badly.

  
“You need to stop moving. With how you’re injured, you won’t make it very far,” Leon says, reaching out to touch the man, which causes him to flinch away and bump into Mia, who stumbles and falls onto her butt.

  
“Mia,” Vince says, rushing to her side while I do as well.

  
“No, no, no,” the man says as he starts to back away.

  
“I’m fine, guys,” Mia says as the man bolts out the front door.

  
“You sure you’re ok?” I ask, laying my hand on her swollen stomach.

  
“I’m fine, Dom. You need to go after him. He won’t make it out there hurt like he is,” Mia says as Vince and I help her stand.

  
“Dom, please go find him,” Jesse says.

  
“He tried to attack you, Jesse,” Vince says, helping Mia sit down.

  
“No, he didn’t, Vince. He was startled when I dropped the bowl. He needs help if those scars he has been anything to go off of,” Jesse says, curling into Leon and Letty as they wrap their arms around him.

  
“You should hurry, Dom,” Letty says, moving Jesse over to the couch to sit down.

  
“I’m going with you, Dom. He ran off in the direction of Tran’s territory,” Leon says.


	2. Chapter 2

“We need to get him before he crosses,” I say as we rush out the door. As soon as I hit the dirt road, I shift so I can run faster. Leon does the same as we head in the direction the blood trail leads. As we get closer to the border, we hear a commotion coming from in front of us. I quickly run a little faster, afraid for the stranger. We come out into the clearing that separates out territory from Tran’s territory and find Tran and his goons surrounding the man as he sways slightly on his feet.

  
“What do you know, I should have figured this stray was with you, Toretto. Don’t you usually take in strays? The one next to you is proof of that. So, what happened in this one? How did he get injured and out here? He’s awfully pretty for a stray, even with all his wounds,” Tran says, circling the man who lets out a growl. I go to step forward, but Leon stops me.

  
“He’s on their territory, Dom. We can’t help him,” Leon says as Lance, Tran’s right hand man ignores the man’s warning growl and steps up behind him.

  
“Can I have him?” Lance asks, running his hands up the man’s hips before ripping the man’s shirt off, which causes him to cry out in pain and fall to his knees.

  
“He wouldn’t be worth it. He’s been dead before it got fun,” Tran says, kicking the man in his side, which knocks him over onto his side that has glass in it. I try to step forward again, but Leon stops me again.

  
“You know we can’t cross the border. The last thing we need is another war with them. Mia is in no condition and Jesse can’t fight, not after the last time,” Leon says.  
“I can’t just leave him with them. You know what they will do to him,” I say, watching the man closely.

  
“He’s on their territory though,” Leon says, which seems to catch the man’s attention. I meet his eyes as he looks towards me. I quickly walked forward until I’m standing right at the edge of the border.

  
“I’d be careful if I were you, Toretto. You’re very close to starting another war,” Tran says, moving to stand farther away from me, which causes his goons to do the same, except Lance, who just stands where he is next to the man. I locked eyes with him again and notice a calculating look in his eyes. I nod slightly and watch as the man knocks Lance’s legs out from under him before bolting towards where Leon and I stand. The second he steps over the border, I wrap my arms around him as he falls. Leon moves in front of us as Lance and a few of Tran’s goons move towards us.

  
“Lance,” Tran says before turning and walking away. Lance hesitates before following with the goons.

  
“Are you ok?” I ask the man, holding him in my arms with his head resting against my shoulder.

  
“Thank you,” the man says softly.

  
“We need to get him back to the house and call the doctor to come look at him,” Leon said, kneeling next to us.

  
“No, please, no doctor,” the man says, starting to shake.

  
“You need to get looked at. You’re badly injured,” I say, brushing the man’s hair from his face.

  
“Please don’t. He’ll find out and make me go back. I don’t want to go back. Please don’t make me go back. I’ll do anything you want, just don’t make me go back,” the man sobs, holding on to my shirt tightly.

  
“Hey, it’s ok. No one is going to force you to go anywhere,” I say, wrapping my arms around him as a strong wave of protectiveness hits me. I look at Leon after I hear him gasp.

  
“Your eyes,” Leon says.

  
“What about them?” I ask, confused as I look back down at the man to see his eyes are glowing a dull blue.

  
“What’s going on?” the man asks.

  
“He’s your mate, Dom,” Leon says, which makes the man tense up in my arms.

  
“No, please, no. Please don’t,” the man says, shaking badly.

  
“Let’s get you home and taken care of. We’ll talk about mates after your wounds are taken care of. I won’t force you into anything, and I will keep you safe from whoever you are running from,” I say, kissing the man’s temple and picking him up bridal style, which causes him to whimper.

  
“You don’t even know my name,” the man says as we head back to the house.

  
“I don’t need to know your name to help you. All I need to know is that you need help,” I say as the house comes into view with a worried Letty and Jesse waiting on the porch.

  
“Leon,” Jesse yells, running down the steps and right into Leon’s arms. Letty was quickly there as well.

  
“I’m fine guys. We didn’t get into a fight,” Leon says, kissing Jesse and then Letty. I notice the man looking at them with a really sad look.

  
“Is he ok, Dom?” Jesse asks, snapping me out of my thoughts about what could have happened to the man.

  
“The doctor will need to come and treat his wounds, but he’ll be fine, Jesse,” I say, walking into the house and laying the man onto the couch.

  
“I got a fresh bowl of water while you were gone,” Mia says, walking over to where I kneel next to the man.

  
“Thank you, Mia,” I say, helping the man sit up and ease onto a towel that Letty lays down on the couch.

  
“I called the doctor, and he’s on the way,” Leon says, walking over and pulling Jesse into his side. The man tenses up again, so I lay my hand on his chest after laying the bowl beside the couch.

  
“I swear, whoever it is that you are running from will never touch you again,” I say, staring into bright blue eyes.

  
“You can’t stop him,” the man says.

  
“Why can’t we?” Leon asks.

  
“Whoever it is, we’ll stop him,” Vince says from behind me suddenly.

  
“Why?” the man asks, staring at Vince.

  
“I don’t know why, but for some reason, Dom cares about what happens to you, and he’s my brother,” Vince says, which makes me smile up at him.

  
“Why would any of you care about me? I’m a complete stranger,” the man says, tensing at the sound of a car pulling up outside.

  
“This family is a very odd one, but we never turn down anyone who needs help,” Mia says, sitting down on the chair as Vince perches on the arm of it.

  
“I hurt you though,” the man says, flinching at the knock on the front door.

  
“You didn’t hurt me. I just fell,” Mia says as Leon gets the door.

  
“Thank you for coming,” I say, standing and greeting the doctor as he walks over.

  
“Another stray, Dom? I would have thought you would learn by now,” the doctor says, which causes the man to whimper and flinch away when the doctor kneels next to the couch. I instantly react to the man’s distress and move between the doctor and the man, growling.

  
“Dom, you need to let him take care of him,” Mia says as Vince lays his hand on my shoulder.

  
“You have to be careful, Doc. He spooks easily,” Leon says from his seat in the other chair with Jesse on his lap and Letty on the arm. I move from in front of the doctor but stay by the man’s head.

  
“Let me take a look at you,” the doctor says, reaching towards the man, who flinches and whimpers.

  
“Hey, it’s going to be ok. Just let him take a look at you,” I say, running my hand through the man’s long, curly, blonde hair, which seems to calm him down. I stay by the man’s head as the doctor cheeks him over.

  
“This part is going to hurt,” the doctor says, getting ready to remove glass from the man’s side.

  
“Can’t you give him something for the pain?” I ask, frowning as the man starts shaking.

  
“I wish I could, but his pain will help determine if I’m pulling the glass wrong,” the doctor says, getting everything he needs ready.

  
“It’s going to be ok. I’m going to be right here with you,” I say running my fingers through his hair.

  
“What’s your name?” the doctor asks, gently cleaning the man’s side.

  
“His name is John,” I say quickly, seeing the fear in the man’s eyes.

  
“I get it, Dom. Another John Doe,” the doctor says.

  
“Another?” the man asks, locking eyes with me as the doctor starts pulling pieces of glass from his side. The man whimpers and closes his eyes, tears leaking down his face. I start running my fingers through the man’s hair.

  
“When I first showed up here, I had found Jesse injured and chained up by his own family and rescued him,” Leon says, hugging Jesse close while Letty rubs Jesse’s back.

  
“He didn’t get out completely unscathed. Dom refused to give me their names when I came and treated them,” the doctor says, stitching the larger wounds as he continues working.

  
“He took us in and protected us when my family came for me,” Jesse says, curling into Leon’s lap and locking hands with Letty.

  
“Are they?” the man asks me softly. With everyone being wolves though, they all heard but just smiled.

  
“Yes, they are all three in a relationship together. The one in the chair is Leon. Jesse is in his lap, and Letty is one the arm of the chair though is she leans any further over, she’ll be in Jesse’s lap,” I say, getting a laugh out of the man as well as the doctor, who is wiping down the man’s now glass free side.

  
“Is there any other injuries?” the doctor asks, locking eyes with me.

  
“He had his right hand trapped in a trap from the hunters. I’m going to have to talk to the sheriff again,” I say, grabbing the man’s elbow and moving it for the doctor to see. The doctor grabs a clean cloth and wipes the man’s hand and wrist off to show jagged wounds on his wrist and hand.

  
“These, thankfully aren’t as bad as they could have been. They will scar though,” the doctor says, wrapping the man’s hand after cleaning and stitching the wounds.

  
“How much do I owe you, sir,” the man says, trying to sit up but wincing. I quickly help him sit up.

  
“All you owe me is one of Mia’s home cooked meals after I check her over while I’m here,” the doctor says, smiling as the man leans against me unconsciously.


	3. Chapter 3

I smile as I came back into the front room from walking the doctor out and see the man laughing with Jesse as Vince fuses over Mia. I sit next to the man as Letty starts up a video game and Jesse joins her.

  
“Brian,” the man says suddenly, startling me as I watched my family.

  
“What?” I ask, turning towards the man.

  
“My name is Brian O’Connor,” the man says, staring at his lap.

  
“Well, it’s nice to meet you, Brian. My name is Dominic Toretto, but I go by Dom. I already introduced Leon, Letty, and Jesse,” I say, smiling at him.

  
“I introduced myself and V, since you didn’t,” Mia says, smiling while Vince rubs her feet.

  
“I’m glad you’re not hurt,” Brian says softly, still staring at his lap.

  
“Brian,” I say softly, reaching out towards him, which makes him flinch and stare at me scared.

  
“Jesse, Letty, it’s time for bed,” Leon says, quickly ushering them out after they all said goodnight.

  
“It’s time for you and the little one too,” Vince says, helping Mia up. They said goodnight as they head to bed as well.

  
“Brian,” I say, moving to kneel in front of Brian. He continues to stare at me, scared. “Why are you scared? You’re safe here.”

  
“I hurt her though,” Brian says, looking around like he wants to bolt.

  
“No, Brian, you didn’t. She is just fine,” I say, lay my hands on his knees to keep him in place.

  
“But Vince,” he starts, but I interrupt him.

  
“Vince has been like that since he found out she was pregnant,” I say, smiling up at him.

  
“I should still go. I don’t want to cause any more trouble for you,” Brian says, scratching at the bandages on his hand.

  
“One, don’t scratch at that so it can heal. Two, you are not causing any trouble. We all want you to stay. I would like you to stay,” I say, frowning when the man’s eyes widen again. “What’s wrong?”

  
“Your eyes just flashed red,” Brian says, sounding awed. “You’re an alpha, which means I’m your mate.” By this point, Brian is shaking as he starts silently crying.

  
“Hey, don’t cry. I won’t lie to you, you are my mate, but I won’t force you into anything you don’t want,” I say, rubbing Brian’s knees.

  
“Mates are supposed to bond and be with each other forever,” Brian says, staring at my hands on his knees.

  
“I know you’re scared, but I would never force you,” I say, trying to get Brian to meet my eyes.

  
“Do I really get to stay here? With you guys?” Brian asks, finally meeting my eyes. I smile as I see the hope in his eyes.

  
“Of course, Brian. We all already love you here. I love you here,” I say, smiling at him as I grab his hand.

  
“You love me?” Brian asks, looking very surprised.

  
“You don’t even know me.”

  
“I don’t have to know your past. I’ve seen you, here, with your new family, and I love you,” I say, moving to sit next to him.

  
“I’m sorry,” Brian says suddenly, getting up and walking to the window.

  
“Why are you apologizing?” I ask, getting up but not moving any closer to him to not startle him.

  
“I don’t know what love is,” Brian says, staring out the window.

  
“You don’t have to love me, Bri. Just stay. We’ve got an unused room you can have,” I say, moving to stand close but not too close.

  
“What is this feeling?” Brian says, clutching his chest and leaning against the window.

  
“Brian?” I say, quickly moving to his side and grabbing a hold of him. “What is it? Where does it hurt? Should I call the doctor?” Brian stares at me, surprised, before smiling.

  
“I’m not hurt, well not more than what you already know about. I have a feeling, in here,” Brian says, pointing to where his heart is at. “I don’t know what this feeling is. I’ve only ever felt this when my mom was still alive.”

  
“Can you describe it to me?” I ask, stepping back but keeping my hand on his arm.

  
“It makes me feel like smiling and being happy. It makes me feel warm and happy It makes me feel protected. It makes me feel… at home,” Brian says, locking eyes with me.

  
“You feel loved,” I say, smiling at him.

  
“This is love?” he asks, smiling back at me.

  
“Yes, it is,” I say, smiling at him.

  
“I should tell you about me, before you decide to love me,” Brian says, grabbing my hand and pulling me over to the couch.

  
“I will never stop loving you, no matter what, Brian,” I say, sitting next to him where our knees are touching.

  
“I wish I could stay here,” he says, looking at me sadly.

  
“You can,” I say, grabbing his hands and smiling at him.

  
“No, I can’t. It would put all of you in danger, and I could never live with myself if you died,” he says, blinking back tears as he stares at his hands in mine.

  
“What are you running from? We can help you, Brian,” I say, rubbing the backs of his hands.

  
“It’s my father. He wants to send me off to an alpha of a neighboring pack to be the pack alpha’s second mate. His first isn’t producing any heirs. He figures it will save him from being killed by the alpha for his land,” he says, starting to sob.

  
“Hey, no one is ever going to touch you again unless you want them to. We are your pack now. You’re safe here,” I say, pulling him against me as I wrap my arms around him.  
“I don’t want to put you in danger. Mia and her little one would be in danger,” he says once he calms down, burying his face in my neck.

  
“We’ve got friends that are alphas of other packs. They will help us,” I say, rubbing his back.

  
“They don’t know me,” he says, yawning.

  
“They’ll do it because you are my mate, and they are friends,” I say, laying my head on his head.

  
“You should probably talk to them tomorrow,” he says, yawning again.

  
“I run a garage and a café. They both usually stop in for lunch, but I’ll text so that their top men will be there as well,” I say, smiling as he yawns again. “Let’s get you to bed.” I smile as he cries out softly when I pick him up.

  
“I can walk,” he says, yawning and laying his hand on my shoulder.

  
“You’re half asleep as it is, and you’re hurt. I don’t mind carrying you. You’re too light,” I say, frowning at how light he feels. I carry him to the spare room, which is across from mine. I slowly lower him onto the bed, and frown when I try to move away but get stopped.

  
“Don’t leave me,” he says, holding onto my arm.

  
“There’s not enough room in the bed, and I don’t think that would be a good idea,” I say, pulling his hand from my arm and sitting on the edge of the bed and holding his hand.

  
“I don’t want to be alone anymore,” he says, silent tears rolling down his face.

  
“You aren’t alone anymore,” I say, rubbing his arm.

  
“Please, don’t leave me alone,” he sobs, holding onto my hand tightly.

  
“Are you sure? You know everyone will see it as you accepting being my mate,” I say, brushing his hair from his face.

“I want to be with you and everyone her for the rest of my life. Can we just take it slow though?” he says, moving into my lap and burying his nose in my neck.

  
“Of course we can, Bri,” I say, kissing the top of his head.

"Bri?” he asks, moving back to look me in the eyes.

  
“Is it ok for me to call you that?” I ask, frowning at my own stupidity.

  
“Of course it is. I was just surprised. No one has called me that since my mom,” he says, smiling at me and yawning.

  
“Let’s go to bed, Bri,” I say, picking him up bridal style and carrying him into my, no our room. I lay him down on the side of the bed I don’t sleep on.

  
“I’m going to go change really quick. Would you like something to change into?” Brian nods as he yawns and rubs his eyes. I grab a shirt and pajama pants for myself and some for Brian. I smile as I hand them to Brian, who is sitting there barely awake and rubbing his eyes. I quickly walked into our room to find Brian fast asleep with his pants halfway off and his shirt lying next to him. I smile and finish changing him before moving up to his pillow. I crawl into bed and lay on my back, thinking about everything that happened. I smile when Brian rolls in his sleep and cuddles into my side, grabbing my shirt in his sleep.

  
“Goodnight, Bri,” I say, kissing his forehead before going to sleep myself.


	4. Chapter 4

I wake up in the morning to the sound of whimpering. I quickly sit up and look around to see where the sound came from. I see Brian curling up in a corner of the room, crying.

  
“Bri?” I ask, getting up and slowly walking over to him. I notice the way his eyes are unfocused and know he is trapped in a memory. I quickly pull him against me and just hold onto him as he shakes. “It’s ok, Bri. I got you. You’re safe now.”

  
“Dom?” came a quiet voice against my chest.

  
“I’ve got you,” I say, rubbing his back.

  
“I’m sorry,” he mumbles as I pull back from him.

  
“You have no reason to apologize, Bri. It happens to Jesse all the time. Would you like to take a shower before we head down for breakfast?” I say, standing and pulling him up with me.

  
“Can I?” he asks, looking at his bandaged hand.

  
“Let me see if they’re healed. If so, Yes, you can. If not you can wash off with a wet cloth,” I say, pulling him into the on suite bathroom. I quickly grab a wet cloth to clear any blood while he removes his shirt.

  
“My dad and older brother did all of those to me,” he says when I glance at his scars.

  
“If you don’t mind me asking, why?” I say, unwrapping his hand and wiping away the dried blood.

  
“After my mom died, they made me do everything for them. These are all from not doing the fast enough, except for this one,” he says, pointing to a newer scar on his side.

  
“What’s it from?” I ask, moving to his side wound after checking that is hand is all healed.

  
“That’s from me running. I decided to leave during the night, when everyone’s asleep, but my father was awake. He managed to get me with a knife before I got away,” he says as I finish with his side.

  
“How long have you been running?” I ask, brushing his hair out of his face.

  
“What month is it?” he asks, looking down and blushing.

  
“It’s December,” I say, frowning and stepping closer to him when his eyes filled with horror.

  
“What day?” he asks, looking panicked.

  
“It’s the twenty-first,” I say, really starting to worry.

  
“Oh my god,” he says, dropping to his knees, which really worries me. I quickly kneel in front of him and place my left hand on his shoulder and my right hand on his cheek.

  
“Bri? What’s wrong? Do I need to call the doctor?” I ask, panicking.

  
“I missed it,” he says, tears rolling down his face as he stares off into the distance.

  
“Bri, talk to me, please,” I say, grabbing a clean cloth, wetting it, and wiping his face.

  
“My mom,” he says, fighting sobs.

  
“What about her, Bri?” I ask, pulling him against me and wrapping my arms around him.

  
“The anniversary of her death was yesterday,” he sobs into my chest.

  
“It’s ok, Bri,” I say, tightening my hold on him when he tenses at a knock on our bedroom door.

  
“Dom, breakfast is ready,” Vince says, walking in and noticing us on the bathroom floor. “What happened? Is he ok?” Vince quickly moved to us and kneels next to me.

  
“The anniversary of his mom’s death was yesterday,” I say, rubbing his back and rocking him slightly.

  
“I’m so sorry. Do you guys need anything?” Vince says, frowning as Brian continues to sob.

  
“Let everyone know we will be down shortly and save us something to eat,” I say, relaxing when Brian’s sobs slowly stop.

  
“Of course,” Vince says, getting up and leaving.

  
“Do you still want to shower?” I ask, standing up and pulling Brian up with me.

  
“Yes, please,” he says softly, staring at his feet.

  
“I will grab you something to put on; go ahead and jump into the shower,” I say, laying my hand on his cheek for a second before going back into the bedroom. I grab a pair of sweatpants and a baggy shirt for Brian before picking out jeans and a tank top for myself. After changing my clothes, I place the clothes for Brian on the sink counter top in the bathroom.

  
“Do you have any hair products I can use?” Brian asks, peeking his head out of the shower.

  
“Let me go get some from Jesse’s room,” I say, smiling at him before leaving. I quickly walked to Leon, Letty, and Jesse’s room. I knock on the door and wait as I hear shuffling.

  
“What can I do for you, Dom?” Leon asks, putting his shirt on after opening the door.

  
“I was wondering if Jesse had an extra shampoo and conditioner that Brian can use,” I say, smiling when I see a sleepy Jesse uncover his head while Letty is picking out clothes for him.

  
“I’ve got extras under the sink,” Jesse says, sitting up, yawning, and stretching.

  
“I’ll get it for you,” Letty says, tossing the clothes at Jesse.

  
“How is he doing?” Leon asks, smiling at Jesse, who fell back asleep.

  
“He’s really upset right now. Yesterday was the anniversary of his mom’s death,” I say, accepting the hair products from Letty.

  
“Oh god,” Letty says, curling into Leon’s side.

  
“I know, Let. Just don’t bring is up to him, ok?” I ask, glancing back towards my room.

  
“Of course,” Letty says, laying her head on Leon’s shoulder.

  
“I’ll see you guys downstairs,” I say, smiling sadly before walking back to my room.

  
“Dom?” came Brian’s voice from the shower.

  
“I got you some shampoo and conditioner. Thankfully Jesse had some, so you didn’t have to use fruity smelling ones,” I say, walking into the bathroom.

  
“Thank you,” he says, peeking out of the shower and grabbing the stuff when I hand them to him.

  
“No problem,” I say, smiling before going back to the bed room to wait for him. I make the bed and place my dirty clothes in the clothes basket as he finishes in the shower.

  
“Your clothes are really baggy on me,” he says, coming out of the bathroom.

  
“I can see that,” I say, smiling as the sweatpants drag the floor by his feet. “Let’s roll up the legs, so that you don’t trip going down the stairs.”

  
“Ok. Should I put my shoes on?” he asks, sitting on the bed.

  
“You can wait until we get ready to leave,” I say, kneeling in front of him and rolling up the legs of the pants.

  
“I could have done that,” he says, blushing.

  
“I know you could have,” I say, smiling at him as I stand up and offer my hand to him. He smiles, though there is still sadness in his eyes, and takes my hand. I lead him down stairs to the kitchen to find everyone already down there and eating.

  
“I made sure there was some left for you,” Mia says from her spot next to Vince.

  
“Thank you, Mia,” I say, walking over and kissing her on the cheek after having Brian sit in the empty chair.

  
“Vince told me,” Mia whispers in my ear really quick. I kiss her temple before standing straight.

  
“How are you feeling today, Mia?” I ask as I load up two plates with eggs, sausage, and bacon.

  
“I’m doing just fine, Dom,” Mia says, smiling as I walk back over to where Brian is sitting.

  
“How far along are you?” Brian asks, scrambling up out of the chair.

  
“Sit down, Bri,” I say, setting Brian’s plate in front of the seat.

  
“You won’t have anywhere to sit,” Brian says, frowning.

  
“Jesse, come sit on my lap,” Leon says, pulling Jesse’s plate over in front of him and sitting a little further from the table. A sleepy Jesse quickly moves to Leon’s lap and continues munching on bacon.

  
“Jesse is usually hyper, but when he is sleepy, he’s pretty quiet and tame,” I say, smiling when Jesse curls into Leon and rubs his eyes.

  
“To answer your question, Brian, I’m seven and a half weeks,” Mia says, smiling as I give Brian half my bacon when I notice how much he likes it.


	5. Chapter 5

Once we are all done with breakfast, I tell everyone to get ready to go to the garage and shop, which are next to each other.

  
“Where are my shoes?” Brian asks, looking around the front room.

  
“They’re in our room. I’ll go grab both our shoes,” I say, smiling at him. I quickly ran upstairs to our room and grab socks and our shoes. I stop and smile halfway down the stairs to find Brian sitting on the couch with Jesse, in wolf form, asleep on his lap.

  
“What’s got your attention?” Leon asks, coming down the stairs behind me. I smile and point to Brian and Jesse. Lion laughs as we finish going down the stairs and over to where they are sitting.

  
“He was so sleepy, I couldn’t tell him no,” Brian says as I sit his shoes at his feet.

  
“He does every morning,” Leon says, shaking Jesse to wake him up. Jesse slowly blinks his eyes open and got up, stretching.

  
“I’m sorry,” Jesse says after he changes back from his light brown wolf.

  
“I’m fine,” Brian says, smiling at Jesse.

  
“Get your shoes on you two, so we can head over to the store,” I say, smiling at Brian. Once everyone is ready, we all load up into our cars, Brian riding with me, and head to the store.

  
“Who’s helping me in the store today?” Mia asks as we all get out of the cars at the store.

  
“Jesse, Brian, and I will be helping you today, Mia,” I say, smiling at the look of amazement on Brian’s face.

  
“Is this the first time you’ve ever seen a store?” Jesse asks after we all walk into the store.

  
“I was never allowed to leave the house. When I was running, I never had the chance to stop and look around,” Brian says, looking around at all the different things we sell.

  
“Just imagine if we took him to a mall,” Letty said, grabbing drinks from the freezers, which seems to catch Brian’s attention.

  
“How do you prevent people from stealing anything?” Brian asks, looking at all the candy we have down one isle.

  
“Most people around here are wolves and don’t. Occasionally we get a human come through, and we just keep an eye on them while they're here,” I say, walking over to where Brian is standing and staring at a bag of gummy worms.

  
“Worms?” Brian asks, making a face.

  
“They’re candy, Bri,” I say, handing him a bag of them.

  
“Why would you want to eat worms?” Brian asks, looking at the worms in the bag before going to put them back.

  
“Those are yours, Bri,” I say, stopping him from putting them back.

  
“I don’t have any money for them,” Brian says, frowning at the bag of candy.

  
“Dom lets us all pick one snack item to munch on through the day,” Jesse says, handing Brian a bottle of Pepsi.

  
“Hey, it’s ok,” I say, pulling Brian against my chest as he hugs the candy and pop close to himself like someone would take them from him and tears slowly roll down his cheeks.

  
“I didn’t mean to upset him,” Jesse says, panicking and also starting to cry.

  
“He’s just overwhelmed, Jesse. He’s not upset. Remember how you were at first?” Leon says, walking over and pulling Jesse against him.

  
“I don’t know why I’m crying. I feel really happy,” Brian says, pulling back and wiping at his eyes with one hand while the other holds his candy and pop.

  
“You’re not upset?” Jesse asks, still curled against Leon. Brain shakes his head no while pushing his hair back out of his face.

  
“Do you know what these taste like?” Brian asks, noticing Jesse start looking at all the candy.

  
“They’re fruity flavored,” Jesse says, looking at a bag of chocolates.

  
“What about those?” Brain asks, pointing to a bag of chocolate covered pretzels.

  
“Those are salty pretzels with sweet chocolate,” Jesse says, grabbing a bag of Hershey kisses.

  
“I’ve never had chocolate or even pretzels,” Brian says, looking between the two.

  
“How about I get the pretzels, and we share our candy?” I ask Brian, grabbing the largest bag of chocolate covered pretzels.

  
“You don’t have to do that,” Brian quickly says, frowning.

  
“It’s fine, Bri. I love both of these, so it’s fine with me,” I say, taking a bottle of water from Leon.

  
“Before you say anything, Dom also lets us have free drinks. We can have up to five for free before we have to pay,” Vince says, seeing Brian staring at the stuff in his hands.

  
“Thank you,” Brian says, locking eyes with me.

  
“You have no reason to thank me, Bri. You are a part of this family now,” I say, hugging him again. I kiss his temple before leading him over to the café part of the store. “We make and sell sandwiches for lunch time. This is the eating area. The register is also located over here.

  
“What’s that back there?” Brian asks, pointing to a section blocked off by pony walls and fencing.

  
“That’s my office. The door on the left is to the back room where stuff is stocked. The hallway on the right leads to the bathrooms,” I say, motioning around as I talk.

  
“You own all this?” Brian asks, looking around as I lead him to behind the counter and show him where he can put his stuff.

  
“Why don’t I show you the garage really quick before we start getting busy,” I say, leading outside and towards the garage.

  
“When are they supposed to be here?” Brian asks as I unlock the door.

  
“They are supposed to be here at noon,” I say, opening the door and turning on the lights.

  
“I hope they can help,” he says, looking down and hugging himself.

  
“It’s going to be ok, Bri,” I say, kissing his cheek. I give him a tour around the garage before we head back to the store. It wasn’t a very busy day, but the time went by fast as I work on paper work while Brian helps Mia and Jesse in the front. I smile as Brian brings me the gummy worms and chocolate covered pretzels.

  
“What do you think of them?” I ask, smiling at him.

  
“They’re both really good, but the chocolate covered pretzels are my favorite,” he says, setting the candy on my desk.

  
“I don’t blame you for liking those. Chocolate is very good,” I say, frowning when I see the worry in his eyes. “Hey, what’s wrong?”

  
“It’s almost time for your friends to be here,” he says as I stand up and pull him over to the couch in my office.

  
“Why does that have you so worried, Bri?” I ask, brushing his hair from his face after we sit down.

  
“They’re your friends. What if they don’t like me?” Brian asks, frowning down at his hands.

“Bri, they are going to love you. You are so kind and beautiful,” I say, holding him close.


	6. Chapter 6

Brian dozes on the couch in my office while I help Jesse during our lunch rush. I frown when I hear whimpering coming from where Brian is asleep.

  
“Go to him, Dom. I’ve got this handled,” Jesse says, frowning as he glances towards the office. I nod to him before quickly making my way over to the office. I rush to Brian when he whimpers again.

  
“Bri, wake up. You’re safe, Bri,” I say, shaking him awake. He bolts up as he wakes up, breathing heavy.

  
“Dom?” he gasps out.

  
“I’m right here, Bri. You’re ok and safe,” I say, pulling him against me as he shakes.

  
“I’m sorry,” Brian says once he’s calm.

  
“There is no reason to apologize, Bri. You doing ok now?” I ask, sitting down onto the couch.

  
“Yeah, I’m good now. I’m still nervous about meeting your friends though,” he says, laying his head on my shoulder.

  
“I know you are. If it gets to be too much for you, you can go to the garage and stay with Leon,” I say, kissing his temple and pulling him up. We walk out of the office and over to the counter to help Jesse. The rush is slowing when my friends show up. I frown to see that they both brought more than just their second in commands.

  
“Looks like they brought their whole packs,” Jesse says, wiping off the counter. I turn when I feel Brian grasping the back of my shirt and find Brian almost hyperventilating.

  
“Jesse, take Brain out the back door and over to the garage. Let Vince know the meeting is about to start,” I say, brushing Brian’s hair from his face.

  
“I want to stay with you, Dom,” Brian says, grasping a hold of me tighter,

  
“Ok, Bri. Jesse, go get everyone. It’s time to eat lunch anyways,” I say, pulling Brian over to help me make sandwiches for everyone as Jesse heads out to get everyone. When my friends come through the door, I kiss Brian’s temple before walking over to greet them. “Edwin, Hector, thanks for coming today.”

  
“You sounded very serious on the phone, so we brought everyone,” Hector says, shaking my hand.

  
“Who’s a fine piece of ass,” Edwin says, which makes Brian tense and look ready to bolt. I glare at Edwin and quickly head over to Brian, so he won’t bolt.

  
“Bri, it’s ok,” I say, standing in front of him to block his line of sight to Edwin.

  
“Ow,” Edwin suddenly says, which makes me turn to see Hector glaring at Edwin, who’s rubbing his arm.

  
“Ignore him. He’s got no filter between his brain and his mouth,” Hector says, smiling at Brian, who just steps into my side and buries his head. At that moment, Vince, Mia, Leon, Jesse, and Letty all walk in and pause when they see Brian curled into my side. Mia is the first to move, and she quickly walked over to where we are standing.

  
“Is he ok?” she asks, going to lay her hand on his arm. I quickly stop her, knowing Brian may still bolt.

  
“What happened?” Vince asks, pushing past Edwin to stand beside me.

  
“Edwin being his normal self is what happened,” Hector says, frowning at Brian shaking.

  
“Why don’t you take him outside for a minute to help him calm down,” Vince says, frowning at Brian as well. I frown and glance over to where Edwin and Hector is standing. Hector nods to me, so I hand Brian off to Vince.

  
“Dom?” Brian asks, panicking.

  
“I’m just grabbing a couple drinks and sandwiches, so we can eat outside. You guys can all eat while we are outside, I say, quickly grabbing two waters and two sandwiches before returning to Brian. I hand him his water and sandwich before leading him outside. I lead him over to a picnic table we have on a patch of grass between the store and the garage. I make sure we are sitting beside each other and facing the street. As we eat, I notice Brian slowly starting to relax.

  
“I’m sorry,” Brian says suddenly.

  
“It’s ok, Bri. Can you tell me why you reacted so strongly?” I ask, rubbing his back.

  
“The alpha my father tried to give me to use to say things like that to me all the time. He used to try and touch me, but my mom always showed up in time to stop him. When she died, there was nothing to stop him,” Brian says, hugging himself.

  
“That’s when your father decided to hand you over to him?” I ask, turning in my seat and pulling him against me. I feel him nod against my chest and start rubbing his back again. Brian is finally calming down again when I spot Vince heading our way. I raise my brows in question when Vince sits down across from us.

  
“Edwin won’t stop apologizing for what he said. It’s getting very annoying,” Vince says, pulling three Hershey’s bars out of his pocket and handing me two. I smile at him in thanks before holding one out in front of Brian’s face.

  
“What is that?” Brian asks, sitting up but not taking the bar.

  
“It is chocolate but in a candy bar form,” I say, putting it on the table in front of him and starting on my own.

  
“You want to eat that soon or it will melt and be messy to eat,” Vince says, pushing it closer to Brian.

  
“I thought I already had my candy for today,” Brian says, which makes me frown. I can see the anger in Vince’s eyes at how Brian has been raised and treated.

  
“We all eat a Hershey’s bar with our lunch,” Vince says, meeting my eyes.

  
“Why?” Brian asks, slowly grabbing the candy bar.

  
“My mom started that tradition when we were kids,” I said, showing Brian how to open the candy bar. Vince and I both smile as we watch Brian enjoy his chocolate bar, making a mess on his face.


	7. Chapter 7

When Brian finishes his chocolate, I wet a napkin with my water and wipe the chocolate off of Brian’s face. Vince laughs as he points to Brian’s nose, which somehow has chocolate on it. I chuckle as I scrub at Brian’s nose. After I got all the chocolate off Brian’s face, I smile as he rubs his nose.

  
“Did I rub too hard?” I ask, brushing his hair from his face.

  
“Maybe a little on my nose,” he says, still rubbing. I grab his hand to stop him from rubbing.

  
“If you keep rubbing it, you’ll look like Rudolf,” Vince says, laughing.

  
“It’s a Christmas cartoon,” I say when Brian looks confused.

  
“It’s about a reindeer that has a red nose,” Vince says, frowning.

  
“I’ve never seen it,” Brian says, looking between us.

  
“We always watch it on Christmas Eve before we all go to bed,” I say, running my fingers through his hair.

  
“Oh,” he says, suddenly looking at his lap. Vince and I trade glances as I try to get him to look back up.

  
“What is wrong, Bri?” I ask, getting him to look at me.

  
“I’m not allowed to be a part of Christmas,” he says, which makes me mad.

  
“Damn it,” Vince yells suddenly, which makes Brian flinch. When Vince slams his fist against the table, Brian bolts out of his seat and up the tree close to the table. Vince and I both exchange shocked looks at how fast he got up the tree.

  
“Bri, please come down,” I say, getting up and going over to the tree when I see everyone from inside come running out.

  
“Is everything ok?” Leon asks, running over to stand beside Vince. Vince gets up and slowly walks over to stand beside me.

  
“Brian, please come back down,” Vince says as everyone walks over to stand by the table, so they can see what is going on but aren’t too close.

  
“Why is he up a tree?” Jesse asks, sitting on the table.

  
“I may have gotten mad and scared him,” Vince says, walking over to the group and helping Mia sit down.

  
“Why are you mad?” Hector asks, looking up at Brian in the tree when he shifts. I panic when I hear the branch groan.

  
“Bri, please come down,” I say as Vince explains what happened.

  
“You’re pulling our chain, bro,” Edwin says when Vince is done.

  
“I wish he was,” I say, keeping an eye on Brian.

  
“How could someone treat him like that?” someone from Hectors pack says.

  
“No idea,” Vince says, frowning as he looked off into the distance. I glance over at him to see Mia grab his hand and tug him down to sit next to her.

  
“Brian, I know you don’t know us, but we really would like to get to know you. Can you please come down?” Letty says, walking over to the tree. When Brian shakes his head no, Letty shrugs before climbing up into the tree, getting close to Brian but not too close.

  
“Be careful, Let,’ Leon says, walking over.

  
“He won’t come down, so I’m going to him,” Letty said, moving closer to him. I can see Brian tense, which makes me move over so I am under where he is sitting.

  
“Don’t go any closer, Let,” I say when I see Brian tense and move like he’s going to get up and move.

  
“Let, he said to not move any closer,” Leon says when Letty doesn’t stop moving. Brian moves again and I panic.

  
“Bri, don’t move,” I shout, seeing the whole branch move. Vince is beside me in a heartbeat.

  
“That branch is about to break,” Vince says, looking up at the branch.

  
‘Brian, will you please come back down to the ground with me?” Letty asks, stopping a few branches down from Brian.

  
“I can’t,” Brian says, glancing at Vince but keeping an eye on Letty.

  
“Why can’t you?” Letty asks, glancing down at us.

  
“I made him mad,” Brian replies, glancing at Vince again.

  
“No one is mad at you, Brian,” Letty says, looking down at Vince.

  
“Brian, I swear to you that I am not mad at you,” Vince says, stepping closer to the tree, which makes Brian move again.

  
“You yelled,” Brian says, looking down at us.

  
“I yelled because I hate the way your father treated you. No one should ever be treated the way you were. Please, come down, Brian, and I swear I will never yell at you,” Vince says, which surprises me at how kind and gentle he is with Brian.

  
“You won’t?” Brian asks, hope shining in his eyes.

  
“None of us will, Bri,” I say, smiling up at him.

  
“Unless you do something extremely stupid that scares the shit out of us,” Leon says, which makes me panic until I see Brian smile and nod.

  
“Be very careful as you move,” Letty says, moving right below Brian. Brian shifts to get down and the branch snaps.

  
“Bri,” I yell as he starts to fall. Letty tries to grab him but ends up slipping and falling as well. We all rush forward to break their fall. Vince and I manage to catch Brian while Leon and Hector catches Letty.

  
“Are you guys ok?” Jesse asks, rushing to Letty and Leon.

  
“I’m fine,” Letty says, shaking but holding tightly to Leon as he stands her up. I keep my arms firmly around Brian as I stand him up.

  
“Bri?” I ask, cupping his face with my hands.

  
“The branch scraped my arm,” he says, holding his left arm close to his chest.

  
“Let me see,” I say, quickly letting go of his face. I gasp to see his arm covered in blood.

  
“You seem to be very clumsy.” Mia says, walking over with a water bottle. I pour it over his arm and use my shirt to wipe the blood off.

  
“Your shirt,” Brian says, frowning.

  
“It’s fine, Bri,” I say, relaxing when I see his skin is already healing.

  
“I’m sorry,” he says, looking down at the ground.

  
“It’s not your fault,” Letty said, smiling from her place between Jesse and Leon. I smile and pull Brian against me when he smiles.


	8. Chapter 8

Once we make sure Letty and Brian are ok, we all head inside to talk and relax. Brian stays close to me as he realizes how many people are there. I smile at him and offer my hand to him when we sit down. I laugh when Brian ponders for a second before he moves his chair closer to mine and leans against me. I move my arm so it is wrapped around his shoulders, and he’s resting his head on my chest.

  
“I know you called us here for more than just to meet your mate,” Hector says, smiling at me.

  
“I called you here to ask for your help,” I say, rubbing the back of Brian’s neck as he fusses with his left arm.

  
“What kind of help do you need?” Edwin asks, frowning.

  
“Brian ran away from his pack,” Jesse says, which causes me to frown.

  
“He escaped from an abusive situation that his father was causing,” I say, rubbing Brian’s arm when he curls into me more.

  
“They always seem to find you,” Edwin says, which earns him another slap to his head.

  
“What does he mean?” Brian asks, looking up at me.

  
“We all come from troubled pasts,” Vince says, smiling at him.

  
“When do you expect there will be problems?” Hector asks, frowning.

  
“We have no idea. There may never be a problem. We would just like your help id there is one,” I say, laying my cheek on top of Brian’s head.

  
“You know my pack will always help you,” Hector says, laying a closed fist over his heart and slightly bowing.

  
“Same for my pack,” Edwin says, following Hectors lead.

  
“Thank you both,” I say, returning the gesture though not as good since Brian is still leaning on me. We all talk about an up and coming race for a while until Edwin and Hector has to leave.

  
“Thanks again,” I say as I walk out with them.

  
“Just let us know,” Hector says.

  
“I will,” I say, waving as they head out.

  
“Dom,” I hear from behind me. I turn to see Brian standing by the door.

  
“Come here,” I say, opening my arms. I smile as I enfold Brian in my arms. I lay my cheek against his temple when I feel him lay his forehead against my neck.

  
“I hope he never comes after me,” Brian says softly.

  
“So do I. Why don’t we check the internet to see if he’s looking for you?” I ask, rubbing his back.

  
“Can we do that?” he asks, tightening his hold on me.

  
“Of course we can,” I say, leading him inside and towards my office. I sit in my computer chair and pull him into my lap as I turn on my computer.

  
“Barstow,” he says when I pull up a search engine. I pull up the local newspaper for Barstow and start to quickly scroll through it to get to the missing people section.

  
“Wait, go back,” Brian says suddenly. I slowly start going back until Brian grabs my arm.

  
“What is it, Bri?” I ask as he starts shaking. I look up when I hear someone enter the office to see Vince and everyone else at the door to the office.

  
“Oh my god,” Brian sobs suddenly.

  
“Bri, what’s wrong?” I ask, turning him in my lap so he is facing me a little more. When all he does is point at an article, I pulled him against me and turn him, so I can read the article. I wave Vince over and have him read the article as I rub Brian’s back.

  
“Is that your dad?” Vince asks, kneeling next to us and grabbing Brian’s hand. Brian nods as he continues to cry.

  
“His dad is dead,” I say to everyone else.

  
“Oh my god,” Mia says, walking over and running her fingers through Brian’s hair.

  
“Isn’t that good?” Jesse asks, looking confused. I’m surprised to hear Brian laugh at that.

  
“It is, but he was still Brian’s last living parent,” Leon says, looking surprised as well.

  
“Well, I guess we should call Hector and Edwin and tell them it was a false alarm,” Letty said, which gets another laugh from Brian.

  
“We’ll invite them to a cookout and tell them,” I say, taking out my phone and sending a text to both,

  
“When?” Brian asks softly, still laying against me.

  
“We’ll get it done tonight,” I say, kissing his forehead.

  
“We’ve got some shopping to do then,” Mia says, already planning the food in her head.

  
“You will be going home and getting things ready,” I say, standing up while having Brian stand. Vince hands Brian some tissues as he stands.

  
“Do you want me to come with you to the store?” Vince asks, handing Mia paper and a pen.

  
“Yeah, that would be helpful,” I say, taking the complete list from Mia.

  
“Can’t you get it all here?” Brian asks, wiping his eyes.

  
“We sell some basic things but not the kind of food needed for a cookout. Do you want to come with us? We can get you some clothes while we are there,” I say, folding the list and putting it in my pocket. Brian nods so we head out to the store. We quickly get everything needed for the cookout and some basic clothes for Brian, but we don’t stay long because the crowd starts getting to Brian. When we get home, I sent Brian to change while I help get the food ready. The cookout goes very well, and Hector and Edwin are very happy about the news. I pull Brian onto my lap as I look around at all of my family.

  
“I love you,” I say, holding him close.

  
“Love you too,” he says, leaning against me.


End file.
